A director of football is a senior management figure at a football (soccer) club, most commonly in Europe. The exact nature of the role is often unclear and causes much debate in the sportsmedia.

The presence of a director of football acts as an intermediary between the manager and the board and may relieve pressure on a manager by handling aspects away from day-to-day coaching, allowing a manager to focus on on-pitch performance. The director may also help to stabilise the club – many examples exist of director stepping in as a caretaker manager on the departure of the manager. The director – often an experienced football figure – may also positively advise a less experienced manager or the board of a less well developed club.

In contrast, there are many examples of tensions arising between director and manager, often due to questions over the remit and powers of the two positions; particularly with regard to control over transfer policy. This had led to many well publicised and often, highly damaging disputes within clubs.

In general, directors of football are not shareholders in the club, or hold a nominal stake. This is opposed to other members of the board with whom the director of football will sit.

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The level of power and influence in the day-to-day and transfer operations of the club held by a director of football may vary considerably. In some cases, the position may be as a figurehead or as a club ambassador, with transfer dealings, team affairs, squad selection and day-to-day operations handled exclusively by the manager and his staff. Often, the position in this case is filled by a former famous player. Bobby Charlton at Manchester United is such an example. In such a case, the role of the director of football is more one of club promotion and marketing than that of actual control over footballing operations. Employing a well-known football personality in such a position may also be used to enhance the perceived prestige of the club, improving the club's position in the transfer market.

Tension may arise even in this role between manager and director, even if the director is merely a figurehead – should the role be filled by a former (often successful) manager, the presence of that individual within the club may act to undermine the authority of the present manager and act to add pressure during periods of poor performance (for example, from the fans wishing the return of the director to managerial duties).

The presence of Sir Matt Busby at Manchester United as general manager after retirement is generally considered to have undermined his immediate successors in the 1970s, despite his retirement from day-to-day club affairs (although he did return to the manager's seat on an interim basis 18 months after his original "retirement".[1]

Appointments in this case are often long-term, likely due to the negative reaction of fans to the removal of a former club legend. On occasion, the role has been filled until the death of the director – such as the aforementioned Busby, who remained as a director of Manchester United until his death in January 1994 at the age of 84. Others remain in the role until their health restricts their activities. A notable case is Bob Paisley at Liverpool, who after his retirement as manager in 1983 he was given a seat on the board of directors and held this role until 1992, when at the age of 73 he resigned from the club due to the onset of Alzheimer's disease, four years before his death.

In this case, the director of football may be sought by a board – or even manager – in order to provide advice or technical assistance on footballing or other aspects that are perceived as lacking or desired by the club. This may be the case where the manager is inexperienced or perceived as naive in a particular aspect, allowing the director to advise against potentially costly errors. This may also be the case where a club in a lesser league or lower division with ambitions to develop further and improve their league position seeks an experienced former manager or director from a more prominent league or club in order to use their experience to further the club. Such an example is that of Giovanni Trapattoni at Red Bull Salzburg or Sven-Göran Eriksson at Notts County.

In this case, however, the tag "director of football" may be dropped in order to prevent the "director" from undermining the present manager by his presence at the club with the person taking up a position such as with the youth academy perceived as subordinate to the manager.

Appointments in this case are often short term – for between 1/2 seasons – with the director imparting their advice and departing to another club.

In other cases, the role of the director of football may include control over transfer dealings and targets and aspects outside coaching and squad selection, which are handled by the manager. The director may oversee all levels of the club – youth to first team – with the manager dedicated to first team affairs. Often, a director in this case is a former manager or experienced former coach, often a predecessor of the present manager. This type of director is often installed at the behest of the owners of a club to oversee the manager and act as a go-between of the board and managerial team, or if required help select a new manager. However, such an arrangement has led to controversy in English football due to issues over roles and responsibilities of manager and director – either perceived excessive interference of the director in affairs (such as squad selection) beyond his remit or by attempting to control and criticise aspects of management. A notable recent example of such tension is that of manager Kevin Keegan and director of football Dennis Wise at Newcastle United.

An example of the description of the role in this case as from the perspective of the manager is given by Dave Bassett as:

" ..... a buffer. The director of football is answerable to the board but there to assist the manager. He's experienced in football and there to help the board members who don't have that experience."

Length of appointments in this case are often linked to the fortunes and tastes of the manager and board – directors often departing after the sacking of a manager (for example, Damien Comolli at Tottenham Hotspur) or on appointment of his replacement. On occasion, the director may remain through a number of managers, such as David Pleat.

In the most extreme case, the director of football may act in a role similar to the continental club 'sporting director' or general manager; holding control over transfer policy and targets, team affairs, stadium and training affairs, travel, fixture selection and having input into squad selection and day-to-day club affairs. This is generally confined to the 'sporting' side of the club, with marketing and financial aspects handled by another director or executive. However, rarely is such a position referred to as 'director of football', with 'sporting director' or akin preferred.

The director of football's job is sometimes compared to that of a general manager in a North American professional sports organisation, and often referred to as 'sporting director' or some equivalent in continental Europe. In a structure with a powerful director of football, the position of manager may be officially called 'head coach' or 'head of 1st team affairs' in order to more clearly define the remit of the traditional 'manager' and 'director of football'.

In this case the length of appointment is intrinsically linked to on-pitch performance, in the same way as a manager.

1.
Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
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Paris Saint-Germain Football Club is a French professional football club based in Paris, whose first team play in the highest tier of French football, the Ligue 1. The club was formed in 1970 by the merger of Paris FC, Paris Saint-Germain remain the only club to have never been relegated from Ligue 1. The Parisians are also one of only two French clubs to win a European title – the other being arch-rivals Olympique de Marseille, PSG are the most successful French club in terms of trophies won, with 32. Domestically, Paris SG have won six Ligue 1 titles, a record ten French Cups, in international club football, Paris have won one UEFA Cup Winners Cup and one UEFA Intertoto Cup. PSG have always represented both Paris and nearby Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the capital side play their games in Paris at the Parc des Princes, while the Camp des Loges is located in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Paris SG spent their formative years using the Stade Municipal Georges Lefèvre, located in front of the Camp des Loges, Paris SG shares an intense rivalry with Marseille and contest the most notorious football match in France, known as Le Classique. PSG is the second-highest supported football club in France after OM, red, blue and white are the clubs traditional colours. And Paris est magique. are PSGs most popular mottos, the Red-and-Blues have hosted the Tournoi de Paris at the Parc des Princes since 1975. During the tournaments 2010 edition, PSG unveiled Allez Paris Saint-Germain, to the tune of Go West by Village People, Qatar Sports Investments has been the clubs owner since 2011. The takeover made Paris Saint-Germain the richest club in France and amongst the richest in the world. Currently, PSG have the sixth-highest revenue in the world with an annual revenue of €520.9 million. Towards the end of the 1960s, an group of businessmen decided to create a major club in the French capital. After a petition was signed by 20,000 people, Paris Saint-Germain Football Club were founded on 12 August 1970 with the merger of Paris FC, PSG are today the citys largest club by far, as well as Frances most successful club in terms of trophies won. Paris SG won the Ligue 2 title in their inaugural season, PSG have never formally been relegated from Ligue 1. However, the split into two in 1972. The professional arm of the continued life in the top-flight under the name of Paris FC. Paris returned to Ligue 1 in 1974, ironically the year that Paris FC were relegated. Since then, PSG have always played in Ligue 1, the clubs trophy cabinet welcomed its first major silverware in the shape of the French Cup in 1981–82

2.
Football (soccer)
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England

3.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa

4.
Sport
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Usually the contest or game is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. Some sports allow a tie game, others provide tie-breaking methods, to one winner. A number of such two-sided contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion, many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a regular sports season, followed in some cases by playoffs. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single contestants, through to those with hundreds of participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. In certain sports such as racing, many contestants may compete, each against each other, however, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. Sports are usually governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition, winning can be determined by physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first. It can also be determined by judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance, records of performance are often kept, and for popular sports, this information may be widely announced or reported in sport news. Sport is also a source of entertainment for non-participants, with spectator sport drawing large crowds to sport venues. Sports betting is in some cases severely regulated, and in some cases is central to the sport, kearney, a consultancy, the global sporting industry is worth up to $620 billion as of 2013. The worlds most accessible and practised sport is running, while football is the most popular spectator sport. The word Sport comes from the Old French desport meaning leisure, other meanings include gambling and events staged for the purpose of gambling, hunting, and games and diversions, including ones that require exercise. Rogets defines the noun sport as an activity engaged in for relaxation, the singular term sport is used in most English dialects to describe the overall concept, with sports used to describe multiple activities. American English uses sports for both terms, the precise definition of what separates a sport from other leisure activities varies between sources. They also recognise that sport can be physical, primarily mind, predominantly motorised, primarily co-ordination. The inclusion of sports within sport definitions has not been universally accepted. Whilst SportAccord recognises a number of mind sports, it is not open to admitting any further mind sports. According to Council of Europe, European Sports Charter, article 2, other bodies advocate widening the definition of sport to include all physical activity. For instance, the Council of Europe include all forms of physical exercise, in competitive events, participants are graded or classified based on their result and often divided into groups of comparable performance

5.
Mass media
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The mass media is a diversified collection of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information electronically, via such media as film, radio, recorded music, digital media comprises both Internet and mobile mass communication. Internet media comprise such services as email, social sites, websites. Print media transmit information via physical objects, such as books, comics, magazines, newspapers, event organizing and public speaking can also be considered forms of mass media. The organizations that control these technologies, such as studios, publishing companies. In the late 20th century, mass media could be classified into eight mass media industries, books, the Internet, magazines, movies, newspapers, radio, recordings, and television. The explosion of digital technology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries made prominent the question. For example, it is whether to include cell phones, computer games. In the 2000s, a called the seven mass media became popular. For example, the Internet includes blogs, podcasts, web sites, the sixth and seventh media, Internet and mobile phones, are often referred to collectively as digital media, and the fourth and fifth, radio and TV, as broadcast media. Some argue that video games have developed into a mass form of media. While a telephone is a communication device, mass media communicates to a large group. In addition, the telephone has transformed into a phone which is equipped with Internet access. A question arises whether this makes cell phones a mass medium or simply a device used to access a mass medium. There is currently a system by which marketers and advertisers are able to tap into satellites and this transmission of mass advertising to millions of people is another form of mass communication. Video games may also be evolving into a mass medium, video games provide a common gaming experience to millions of users across the globe and convey the same messages and ideologies to all their users. Users sometimes share the experience with one another by playing online, excluding the Internet however, it is questionable whether players of video games are sharing a common experience when they play the game individually

6.
Manager (association football)
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In association football, a manager is an occupation of head coach in the United Kingdom responsible for running a football club or a national team. Outside of the British Isles and across most of Europe, a title of coach or coach is predominant. The manager of a club is responsible to the club chairman. The managers responsibilities in a football club usually include the following, Selecting the team of players for matches. Planning the strategy, and instructing the players on the pitch, motivating players before and during a match. Delegating duties to the first team coach and the coaching and medical staff, scouting for young but talented players for eventual training in the youth academy or the reserves, and encouraging their development and improvement. Buying and selling players in the market, including loans. Facing the media in pre-match and post-match interviews, some of the above responsibilities are shared with the director of football or sporting director, and are at times delegated to an assistant manager or club coach. Additionally, depending on the club, some minor responsibilities include, Marketing the club, most especially for ticket admission, sponsorship, growing turnover and keeping the club profitable. These responsibilities are more common among managers of small clubs, for this reason, in many cases, national football team managers are selected from current club team managers and also in many cases, they select the players of their clubs. The title of manager is almost exclusively used in British football, in the majority of countries where professional football is played, the person responsible for the direction of a team is awarded the position of coach or trainer. For instance, despite the general equivalence in responsibilities, Bobby Robson was referred to as the manager of England, for example, a typical European football manager would have the final say on in-game decisions, and off-the-field and roster management decisions. In American sports, these duties would be handled separately by the coach and general manager

7.
Caretaker manager
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However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is suspended, ill or unable to attend to their usual duties. Caretaker managers are appointed at short notice from within the club, usually the assistant manager. In other sports, the interim manager is more commonly used. Tony Barton was appointed manager of Aston Villa after the departure of Ron Saunders, if a caretaker proves to be particularly successful during their spell in charge, they are sometimes given the managers job full-time. Glenn Roeder was appointed manager of Newcastle United after having taken over as caretaker following Graeme Souness dismissal in 2006. This also occurred when Ricky Sbragia got the Sunderland job permanently after Roy Keanes resignation in November 2008 but he resigned himself at the end of the season 2008–09. This also happened in the 2010–11 Premier League, on 8 January 2011, Roy Hodgson was sacked by Liverpool after a run of poor results, kenny Dalglish was appointed the caretaker manager of Liverpool for the remainder of the season. After an impressive run of results, which saw Liverpool rise to 6th on the table, Dalglish was appointed the manager of Liverpool. In Norway, a notable example occurred in 2006 when Rosenborg BK manager Per-Mathias Høgmo announced he was taking a leave of absence in mid-season, at the time, Rosenborg were ten points behind leaders SK Brann. His assistant Knut Tørum was appointed on a basis, and proceeded to lead Rosenborg to a furious comeback. Høgmo announced his resignation two days after Rosenborg clinched, and Tørum was named permanent manager after the season. On the other hand, Tony Parkes was named manager of Blackburn Rovers on six separate occasions between 1986 and 2004, without ever being given the role in a full-time capacity. He is still yet to be given a full-time managerial role, in November 2007, Sandy Stewart led St Johnstone to victory in the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup in his only game in charge as caretaker manager. In the 2007–08 season, Cevat Güler won Süper Lig as Galatasarays caretaker manager and he was in charge for the last five matches of the season due to Karl Heinz Feldkamps resignation. In the 2007 Hazfi Cup final, Sepahans head coach, Luka Bonačić had travelled to his country, mansour Ebrahimzadeh who was assistant to Bonačić served as caretaker manager for that match. Sepahan won the match and the title, roberto Di Matteo won the Champions League and FA Cup as caretaker manager of Chelsea in 2012, leading to him being appointed permanent manager on a two-year contract. Benítez was not offered a contract as permanent manager, instead being replaced by José Mourinho who went back to Chelsea for a second term

8.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England

9.
Gridiron football
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Gridiron football, or North American football, is a form of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of football are American football and Canadian football. The grid system was abandoned in favor of the system of lines and hash marks used today. Gridiron football developed in the late 19th century out of the games now known as rugby football. Walter Camp is credited with creating many of the rules that differentiate gridiron football from its older counterparts, because the two sets of lines had the same spacing and were perpendicular, they divided the field into squares, resembling a checkerboard or gridiron pattern. The word gridiron, in use since the 14th century, refers to a grid for cooking food over a fire. As described in Outdoor Sports and Games, by Claude H. Miller, at each end are goal posts set 18 feet 6 inches apart, with a crossbar 10 feet above the ground. The field is marked off in chalk lines similar to a tennis court, the centre of the field where the play starts is 55 yards from either end. The lines on a football field make an effect and have given to the field the name of gridiron. As a result, the name of the field, gridiron, was applied to the game itself, the ball would be snapped in the grid in which it was downed on the previous play. The grid system was abandoned in favor of the system of lines and hash marks used today. Especially outside of the U. S. and Canada, the gridiron and gridiron football are often used to distinguish the North American sport from other codes of football. Gridiron is the word for the sport in Australia and New Zealand. In the United States and Canada, the game is known unambiguously as football, association football is known in these countries as soccer and rugby football, seldom encountered in the U. S. is known as rugby or, especially in Canada, English rugby. American football is the most common and widely known of the football codes. It is played with players to a side, four downs. The premier professional league in the United States, the National Football League, has its own distinct code, colleges in the United States generally play under the code defined in NCAA Football Rules and Interpretations. Youth games generally follow NFHS code with modifications, adult semi-pro, alternative and minor professional, amateur, touch, flag, etc. may follow any one of these codes or use their own rules

10.
Bobby Charlton
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He played almost all of his club football at Manchester United, where he became renowned for his attacking instincts and passing abilities from midfield and his ferocious long-range shot. He was also known for his fitness and stamina. He was cautioned only twice in his career, once against Argentina in the 1966 World Cup and his elder brother Jack, who was also in the World Cup-winning team, is a former defender for Leeds United and international manager. After helping United to win the Football League in 1965, he won a World Cup medal with England in 1966 and another Football League title with United the following year. In 1968, he captained the Manchester United team that won the European Cup, Charlton held the record for most appearances for Manchester United, before being surpassed by Ryan Giggs in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final. He was selected for four World Cups, and helped England to win the competition in 1966, at the time of his retirement from the England team in 1970, he was the nations most capped player, having turned out 106 times at the highest level. This record has since held by Bobby Moore and Peter Shilton. He left Manchester United to become manager of Preston North End for the 1973–74 season and he changed to player-manager the following season. He next accepted a post as a director with Wigan Athletic, then became a member of Manchester Uniteds board of directors in 1984, however, Charlton credits much of the early development of his career to his grandfather Tanner and his mother Cissie. His elder brother, Jack, initially went to work applying to the Police Service before also becoming a footballer with Leeds United. On 9 February 1953, then a Bedlington Grammar School pupil, Charlton went on to play for England Schoolboys and the 15-year-old signed with United on 1 January 1953, along with Wilf McGuinness, also aged 15. Initially his mother was reluctant to let him commit to a football career, so he began an apprenticeship as an electrical engineer, however. He worked his way through the order of teams, scoring regularly for the youth. Also doing his army service in Shrewsbury at the time was his United team-mate Duncan Edwards. United won the championship but were denied the 20th centurys first double when they controversially lost the 1957 FA Cup Final to Aston Villa. Charlton, still only 19, was selected for the game, though Charlton was a candidate to go in goal to replace Wood, it was teammate Jackie Blanchflower who ended up between the posts. Charlton was a player by the time the next season was fully underway. Previously, the Football Association had scorned the competition, but United made progress and their reputation was further enhanced the next season as they reached the quarter finals to play Red Star Belgrade

11.
Manchester United F.C.
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Manchester United Football Club is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Nicknamed the Red Devils, the club was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to its current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910. Manchester United have won a record 20 League Titles, a joint-record 12 FA Cups,5 League Cups, the club has also won three European Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the became the first in the history of English football to achieve the treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup. The 1958 Munich air disaster claimed the lives of eight players, in 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United became the first English football club to win the European Cup. Alex Ferguson won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles,5 FA Cups and 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, José Mourinho is the clubs current manager, having been appointed on 27 May 2016. As of June 2015, it is the worlds most valuable football brand and it is one of the most widely supported football teams in the world. In August 2012, Manchester United made a public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The club holds several rivalries, most notably with Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds United, Manchester United was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. By 1888, the club had become a member of The Combination. Following the leagues dissolution after only one season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance and this resulted in the club starting the 1892–93 season in the First Division, by which time it had become independent of the railway company and dropped the LYR from its name. After two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division, in January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £260,000 in 2017 – the club was served with a winding-up order. The following season began with victory in the first ever Charity Shield, Manchester United won the First Division for the second time in 1911, but at the end of the following season, Mangnall left the club to join Manchester City. In 1922, three years after the resumption of football following the First World War, the club was relegated to the Second Division, relegated again in 1931, Manchester United became a yo-yo club, achieving its all-time lowest position of 20th place in the Second Division in 1934. Gibson, who, in December 1931, invested £2,000, in the 1938–39 season, the last year of football before the Second World War, the club finished 14th in the First Division. Busby led the team to second-place league finishes in 1947,1948 and 1949, in 1952, the club won the First Division, its first league title for 41 years. With an average age of 22, the title winning side of 1956 were labelled the Busby Babes by the media. In 1957, Manchester United became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, despite objections from The Football League, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season

12.
Matt Busby
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Sir Alexander Matthew Matt Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and his managerial records and longevity at the helm of Manchester United are surpassed only by Sir Alex Ferguson. Before going into management, Busby was a player for two of Manchester Uniteds greatest rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool, during his time at City, Busby played in two FA Cup Finals, winning one of them. As a result, he took the vacant managers job at Manchester United instead, in a total of 25 years with the club, he won 13 trophies. Busby was born to Alexander and Helen Nellie Busby in a two-roomed pitmans cottage in the village of Orbiston, Bellshill. When he was born, Busbys mother was told by the doctor, Busbys father was a miner, but was called up to serve in the First World War, being killed by a snipers bullet on 23 April 1917 at the Battle of Arras. Three of his uncles were killed in France with the Cameron Highlanders, Busbys mother was left to raise Matt and his three sisters alone until her marriage to a man called Harry Matthie in 1919. Busby would often accompany his father down into the coal pits, in his 1973 autobiography Busby described himself as being as football mad as any other boy in Bellshill citing in particular the impression made on him by Alex James and Hughie Gallacher. His mother might have quashed those dreams when she applied to emigrate with Matt to the United States in the late 1920s, in the meantime, Busby got a full-time job as a collier and played football part-time for Stirlingshire side Denny Hibs. He had played only a few matches for Denny Hibs, and he made 11 more appearances for City that season, all at inside forward, scoring five goals in the process. During the 1930–31 season, City manager Peter Hodge decided that Busbys talents could be exploited from the half-back line. In his new position, Busby built up a reputation as an intelligent player, in 1930, Manchester United made an enquiry about signing Busby from their cross-town rivals, but they were unable to afford the £150 fee that City demanded. By the 1931–32 season, Busby was firmly established in the first team, indeed, Busby and Jackie Bray became such fixtures at wing-half that club captain Jimmy McMullan had to move to forward to keep his place in the team. In the 1930s Manchester City performed strongly in the FA Cup and they reached the semi-finals in 1932, and the final in 1933 before finally winning the tournament in 1934. He made his debut for the Reds just two later, on 14 March, away to Huddersfield Town, the match ended in a 1–0 Liverpool defeat. Busby opened his account a month later – his 47th-minute strike helped his team to a 2–2 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. Busby soon made the number 4 shirt his own, ousting Ted Savage in the process and he rarely missed a game over the following three seasons. This consistency earned Busby the Liverpool captaincy and he led the club with great distinction, along with Jimmy McDougall and Tom Bradshaw, Busby made up what is considered by many to be the best half-back line Liverpool had ever had

13.
Ron Greenwood
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That of England manager was his final role in football. Ron Greenwood was born in the village of Worsthorne, near Burnley, Lancashire and he was educated at the Wembley County Grammar School which now forms part of Alperton Community School in Middlesex, leaving at the age of 14 to be an apprentice sign-writer. Greenwood played as a centre-half, joining Chelsea as an amateur whilst training as an apprentice sign-writer, during World War II he served in the Royal Air Force in Northern Ireland and guested for Belfast Celtic. In 1945, he left Chelsea for Bradford Park Avenue, in 1949, Greenwood moved to the club he supported as a boy, Brentford, his £9500 fee breaking the clubs incoming transfer record. He made 142 league appearances and scored one goal, after three years at Brentford, he returned to Chelsea, where he played 65 times and won a First Division winners medal in 1954-55 under Ted Drake. That summer, he moved to Fulham, where he made another 42 league appearances before retiring at the end of the 1955-1956 season, after retiring Greenwood moved into coaching. He coached Eastbourne United, Oxford University, the England Youth and he combined the England Under-23 post with being the assistant manager at Arsenal under George Swindin, having moved to Highbury in December 1957. He remained there until April 1961, when he was selected by chairman Reg Pratt to replace Ted Fenton as manager of West Ham United, Greenwoods reign at West Ham brought them sizeable success. He moved upstairs in 1974, becoming the general manager for the next three years, with John Lyall being placed in charge of the first team. In the first season of this arrangement, West Ham won another FA Cup, in July 1977, after England coach Don Revies resignation, Greenwood was appointed full-time manager in the same year, ending his 15-year association with West Ham United. Under Greenwood, England qualified for the UEFA Euro 1980, and then the 1982 FIFA World Cup, England came through the tournament unbeaten, but did not win enough games to progress beyond the second group stage. Greenwood resigned after the World Cup, and retired from football, one major landmark during Greenwoods tenure was the selection of the first black player for England, Viv Anderson, in 1978. Greenwood stated Yellow, purple or black - if theyre good enough, after his career in football Greenwood was a regular analyst on BBC Radio. He died on 9 February 2006, aged 84, after a struggle with Alzheimers disease. When West Ham played Birmingham in a Premier League fixture on 13 February 2006, West Ham won the game 3-0. The Heritage Foundation charity erected a plaque in Greenwoods memory at West Hams Upton Park. Greenwood was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and he was survived by his widow, Lucy. He is buried in the Town Cemetery at Sudbury in Suffolk, ron Greenwood management career statistics at Soccerbase Obituary from BBC Sport Obituary from The Times Obituary from The Guardian

14.
West Ham United F.C.
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West Ham United Football Club is a professional football club based in Stratford, East London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, in 2016 the club re-located to the London Stadium. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United and they moved to the Boleyn Ground in 1904, which remained their home ground for more than a century. The team initially competed in the Southern League and Western League before joining the Football League in 1919 and they were promoted to the top flight in 1923, when they also losing finalists in the first FA Cup Final held at Wembley. In 1940, the won the inaugural Football League War Cup. West Ham have been winners of the FA Cup three times, in 1964,1975, and 1980, and have also been runners-up twice, in 1923, and 2006. The club have reached two major European finals, winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1965 and finishing runners up in the competition in 1976. West Ham also won the Intertoto Cup in 1999 and they are one of eight clubs never to have fallen below the second tier of English football, spending 59 of 91 league seasons in the top flight, up to and including the 2016–17 season. The clubs highest league position to date came in 1985–86 when they achieved third place in the then First Division, three West Ham players were members of the 1966 World Cup final-winning England team, captain Bobby Moore and goalscorers Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. The club, Thames Ironworks were the first ever winners of the West Ham Charity Cup in 1895 contested by clubs in the West Ham locality and they turned professional in 1898 upon entering the Southern League Second Division, and were promoted to the First Division at the first attempt. The following year they came second from bottom, but had established themselves as a fully fledged competitive team and they comfortably fended off the challenge of local rivals Fulham in a relegation play-off, 5–1 in late April 1900 and retained their First Division status. In 1899, they acquired their now-traditional home kit combination of claret shirts and sky blue sleeves in a wager involving Aston Villa players, because of the original works team roots and links, they are still known as the Irons or the Hammers amongst fans and the media. West Ham Utd joined the Western League for the 1901 season while continuing to play in the Southern Division 1. In 1907, West Ham were crowned the Western League Division 1B Champions, the reborn club continued to play their games at the Memorial Grounds in Plaistow but moved to a pitch in the Upton Park area in the guise of the Boleyn Ground stadium in 1904. The Cup Final match itself ended 2–0 to Bolton, the team enjoyed mixed success in Division 1 but retained their status for ten years and reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1933. In 1932, the club was relegated to Division Two and long term custodian Syd King was sacked after serving the club in the role of manager for 32 years, following relegation, King had mental health problems. He appeared drunk at a meeting and soon after committed suicide. The club spent most of the next 30 years in division, first under Paynter

15.
John Lyall
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John Angus Lyall was an English footballer and manager of Scottish descent. His mother, Catherine, was from the Isle of Lewis, his father and he was born in Ilford, Essex. Watched by West Ham manager, Ted Fenton, and chief scout Wally St Pier, in October 1955 he joined West Ham United as a groundstaff boy, with duties such as boot cleaning, painting the football stands and wages clerk. He played youth football as a left back. In February 1957 he won his only significant international honour when he played for England Youth in a 7–1 victory over Luxembourg at Upton Park. In 1957 he was also a member of the West Ham side which lost 8–2, on aggregate and he made his senior debut in April 1959. His first team career was interrupted and prematurely ended by an injury to his left knee. In January 1964 after making 36 appearances in all competitions, aged 23, he was diagnosed with an inoperable, generally disarranged knee, Lyall was granted a testimonial game by West Ham which was played in April 1964 and netted him £3797. He was offered the role of youth team manager. Impressing at part-time youth manager Lyall was offered the role on a basis in 1967. He rose through the ranks at Upton Park to succeed Ron Greenwood as team manager in September 1974. In 1975, at the end of his first season as manager, West Ham won the FA Cup final and reached the final of the European Cup Winners Cup the following year, however, West Ham slipped down to the Second Division in 1978. West Ham returned to the First Division in 1981 winning the title by a thirteen-point margin, during their exile from the top flight, on 10 May 1980, West Ham beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final, the last lower league side to do so. In their 1981 promotion season, Lyall also led the Hammers to the final of the League Cup – where they drew 1–1 against Liverpool, before losing the replay 2–1 and they also reached the quarter finals of the European Cup Winners Cup in the same year. West Ham spent the first four years back in the top flight consolidating their position, long serving Trevor Brooking and Frank Lampard both retired and Billy Bonds was struggling with the effects of first team football. Lyall again attempted to rebuild the team bringing Frank McAvennie from St Mirren, unfortunately they were unable to compete in the UEFA Cup because of the ban on English teams from European competition arising from the previous years Heysel Disaster. Lyall failed to build on the side finished third in the First Division. McAvennie was sold to Celtic in 1987 and Cottee to Everton in July 1988 for a British transfer record of £2.05 million, Lyall was sacked in June 1989

16.
England national football team
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The England national football team represents England in international football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England are one of the two oldest national teams in football, alongside Scotland, whom played in the worlds first international football match in 1872. Englands home ground is Wembley Stadium, London, and the current manager is Gareth Southgate, England contest the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship, which alternate biennially. In contesting for the World Cup seventeen times over the past sixty four years, England won the 1966 World Cup, when they hosted the finals, the England national football team is the joint-oldest in the world, it was formed at the same time as Scotland. A representative match between England and Scotland was played on 5 March 1870, having been organised by the Football Association, a return fixture was organised by representatives of Scottish football teams on 30 November 1872. Over the next forty years, England played exclusively with the other three Home Nations—Scotland, Wales and Ireland—in the British Home Championship, to begin with, England had no permanent home stadium. They joined FIFA in 1906 and played their first ever games against countries other than the Home Nations on a tour of Central Europe in 1908, Wembley Stadium was opened in 1923 and became their home ground. The relationship between England and FIFA became strained, and this resulted in their departure from FIFA in 1928 and their first ever defeat on home soil to a foreign team was a 0–2 loss to the Republic of Ireland, on 21 September 1949 at Goodison Park. A 6–3 loss in 1953 to Hungary, was their defeat by a foreign team at Wembley. In the return match in Budapest, Hungary won 7–1 and this still stands as Englands worst ever defeat. After the game, a bewildered Syd Owen said, it was like playing men from outer space, in the 1954 FIFA World Cup, England reached the quarter-finals for the first time, and lost 4–2 to reigning champions Uruguay. Although Walter Winterbottom was appointed as Englands first ever manager in 1946. In UEFA Euro 1968, the reached the semi-finals for the first time. England qualified for the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico as reigning champions, and reached the quarter-finals, England had been 2–0 up, but were eventually beaten 3–2 after extra time. They failed in qualification for the 1974, leading to Ramseys dismissal, under Ron Greenwood, they managed to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, despite not losing a game, they were eliminated in the second group stage. Despite losing to Italy in the third place play-off, the members of the England team were given bronze medals identical to the Italians’, the England team of 1990 were welcomed home as heroes and thousands of people lined the streets, for a spectacular open-top bus parade. However, the team did not win any matches in UEFA Euro 1992, drawing with tournament winners Denmark, the 1990s saw four England managers, each in the role for a relatively brief period. Graham Taylor was Robsons successor, but resigned after England failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, at UEFA Euro 1996, held in England, Terry Venables led England, equalling their best performance at a European Championship, reaching the semi-finals as they did in 1968

17.
Southampton F.C.
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Their home ground since 2001 has been St Marys Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. Southampton has a rivalry with Portsmouth due to its close proximity. Matches between the two sides are known as the South Coast derby, the club has won the FA Cup once, in 1976, and their highest-ever league finish was second in the First Division in 1983–84. Southampton were relegated from the Premier League on 15 May 2005 and they returned after a seven-year absence, and have played there ever since. Southampton were founded at St. Marys Church, on 21 November 1885 by members of the St. Marys Church of England Young Mens Association. More important matches, such as cup games, were played either at the County Cricket Ground in Northlands Road or the Antelope Cricket Ground in St Marys Road. During this time, they moved to a newly built £10,000 stadium called The Dell, the club reached the first of their four FA Cup Finals in 1900. On that day, they went down 4–0 to Bury and two later they would suffer a similar fate at the hands of Sheffield United as they were beaten 2–1 in a replay of the 1902 final. After World War I, Saints joined the newly formed Football League Third Division in 1920 which split into South and North sections a year later, the 1921–22 season ended in triumph with promotion and marked the beginning of a 31-year stay in the Second Division. The 1922–23 season was a unique Even Season –14 wins,14 draws and 14 defeats for a total of 42 points, goals for and against statistics were also equal and the team finished in mid-table. In 1925 and 1927, they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing 2–0 and 2–1 to Sheffield United, in the 1948–49 and 1949–50 seasons, Charlie Wayman rattled in a total of 56 goals. Then relegation in 1953 sent Saints sliding back into Division 3 and it took until 1960 for Saints to regain Second Division status with Derek Reeves plundering 39 of the champions’106 league goals. On 27 April 1963 a crowd of 68,000 at Villa Park saw them lose 1–0 to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final. In 1966, when Ted Bates’ team were promoted to the First Division as runners-up, for the following campaign Ron Davies arrived to score 43 goals in his first season. Saints stayed among the elite for eight years, with the highest finishing position being seventh place in 1968–69 and again in 1970–71. These finishes were high enough for them to qualify for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969–70 and its successor, the UEFA Cup in 1971–72, in December 1973, Bates stood down to be replaced by his assistant Lawrie McMenemy. The Saints were one of the first victims of the new three-down relegation system in 1974, the following season, they played in Europe again in the Cup Winners Cup, reaching Round 3 where they lost 2–3 on aggregate to Anderlecht. In 1977–78, captained by Alan Ball, Saints finished runners-up in the Second Division and they finished comfortably in 14th place in their first season back in the top flight

18.
Alan Ball Jr.
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Alan James Ball MBE was a professional English footballer and football club manager. Born in Farnworth, Lancashire, he was the youngest member of Englands 1966 World Cup winning team and played for various clubs and his playing career also included a then national record £220,000 transfer from Everton to Arsenal at the end of 1971. After retiring as a player, he had a 15-year career as a manager which included spells in the top flight of English football with Portsmouth, Southampton and Manchester City. Ball started his career whilst still a schoolboy, playing for Ashton United. He fell out with his headmaster over missing games for his Farnworth Grammar School team due to him signing and playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers, after he left school, Wolves decided not to take Ball on. The midfielder then started training with Bolton Wanderers but they too decided not to him a professional deal. Blackpool signed him after Balls father called in a favour with the coach, Ball was given a trial in September 1961 and was immediately signed up as an apprentice. He turned professional in May 1962, making his Football League debut on 18 August 1962 against Liverpool at Anfield in a 2–1 victory, at age 17 years and 98 days, he became Blackpools youngest League debutant. On 21 November 1964, Ball scored his first hat-trick as a professional, Balls performances in the 1966 World Cup winning England team attracted the attention of a number of clubs bigger than Blackpool. Everton reached the 1968 FA Cup Final, but lost to West Bromwich Albion and were knocked out by Manchester City in the semi-finals the following year. Ball was as instrumental a player in the team as ever, as Everton took the 1970 Football League Championship title, as was so, Ball was capped a total of 259 times for the Toffees, in all scoring 79 goals as well. On 22 December 1971, Arsenal paid a fee of £220,000 to take Ball to Highbury. He was 26 years of age and at his peak for both form and fitness when he joined Arsenal, he made his debut against Nottingham Forest on 27 December 1971. However, Arsenal could not defend their League title in 1971–72, Ball had continued to play for Arsenal through all this time, as a near-constant member of the first team at first, including 50 appearances in 1972–73. However, Arsenals Double-winning side was broken up and their replacements proved inadequate, Ball remained one of the few quality players in the Arsenal side. In April 1974 Ball broke his leg, resulting in his missing the start of the 1974–75 season, Ball also missed the start of the 1975–76 season after an injury in the pre-season friendly at Crewe Alexandra, Arsenal subsequently finished in 17th place that season. Bertie Mee resigned as Arsenal manager in the summer of 1976, now aged 31, Ball continued to play for Arsenal until December 1976, when he was sold to Southampton for a fee of £60,000. In total he made 217 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 52 goals, Balls move to Southampton was a bit symmetrical in that he had arrived at clubs, being Everton, Arsenal and Southampton in 1966,1971 and 1976, when each were holders of the FA Cup

19.
Graeme Souness
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Graeme James Souness is a retired Scottish professional football player and manager, who played as a midfielder. Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player/manager of Rangers in the late 1980s and he also played for Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesbrough and Sampdoria. His managerial career began when he joined Rangers, leading them to three Scottish titles and four cups, before joining Liverpool as manager. He went on to become manager of Galatasaray, Southampton, Torino, Benfica, Blackburn Rovers, Souness was brought up in the Saughton Mains area of Edinburgh, and supported local side Hearts and Rangers. As a teenager Souness played for boys club North Merchiston. Sounesss career began as an apprentice at Tottenham Hotspur under Bill Nicholson and he signed professional forms as a 15-year-old in 1968. Frustrated at a lack of first team opportunities, the teenage Souness reputedly informed Nicholson that he was the best player at the club, Souness made one first team appearance for Spurs, in a UEFA Cup tie as a substitute. During the summer of 1972, Souness played in the North American Soccer League for the Montreal Olympique and he appeared in 10 of his teams 14 games, and was named in the leagues All-Star team for that season. Spurs sold Souness to Middlesbrough for £30,000 in 1972, Souness made his first appearance for Middlesbrough on 6 January 1973, in a 2–1 league defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage. His first goal came on 11 December 1973 in a 3–0 league victory over Preston North End at Ayresome Park, Sounesss tenacious style began to garner acclaim during his time at Middlesbrough. His first season saw Middlesbrough finish fourth, two places and 14 points short of promotion, jack Charlton was appointed Middlesbrough manager, his first managerial post, in May 1973. One of Charltons first signings was experienced former Celtic midfielder Bobby Murdoch, promotion as champions of the Second Division followed in 1973/74. Sounesss influence was demonstrated when he scored a hat-trick in the final fixture. Sounesss playing career is best remembered for his seven seasons at Liverpool and his time at Anfield began in 1978 as a replacement for veteran Ian Callaghan. After winning his first European Cup in 1977, Liverpool manager Bob Paisley sought reinforcements by signing three Scottish players, all of whom were to contribute substantially to further success, central defender Alan Hansen arrived from Partick Thistle for £110,000. Kenny Dalglish – an established Scottish international – signed from Celtic for a then British record fee of £440,000, Souness formed the final part of the Scottish triumvirate, leaving Middlesbrough in acrimonious circumstances for a club-record fee of £350,000 on 10 January 1978. Sounesss Liverpool debut came in a 1–0 league victory over West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on 14 January 1978, Souness played a critical role in Liverpools retention of the European Cup against FC Bruges at Wembley, providing the pass for Dalglish to score the games only goal. Sounesss first League title medals were won in seasons 1978–79 and 1979–80, Thompson initially refused to speak to Souness claiming he had stolen the captaincy from behind his back

20.
Harry Redknapp
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Henry James Harry Redknapp is an English football manager and former player. He is an advisor to Central Coast Mariners and a director at Southern Football League club Wimborne Town. He previously managed Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, in his second spell at Portsmouth, he managed the side that won the 2008 FA Cup. At the conclusion of the 2009–10 season he guided Tottenham into the UEFA Champions League for the very first time, Redknapp oversaw Tottenhams progress to the last 16 after defeating Werder Bremen at home. They topped their group ahead of holders Inter Milan, before defeating A. C. Milan over two legs to reach the quarter-finals and his son, Jamie Redknapp, played under him at Bournemouth and Southampton. He is also uncle to Frank Lampard, who played him at West Ham United. Redknapp was born in Poplar, London, the child of Henry Joseph William Redknapp. At the age of 11, while playing for East London Schools football he was spotted by Dickie Walker, from there Harry grew up in the Tottenham youth ranks playing at Cheshunt, meeting the likes of Bill Nicholson, Dave Mackay and Danny Blanchflower. At the age of 15 Redknapp moved to West Ham and played alongside Bobby Moore, in a 2008 interview he stated as part of a tribute to Tom Finney, I was a big Arsenal fan as a kid and I remember seeing him play against Tommy Docherty one night. I followed Tottenham, I trained there as an 11-year-old, 12-year-old so I know the history of the club. During his playing career Redknapp played as a midfielder, he began his career with Tottenham Hotspur playing for the team until he was 15 years old when he moved to West Ham United. Redknapp first broke into the first team at West Ham in the 1965–66 seasons, making seven appearances and he made his debut for West Ham in a 1–1 draw at home to Sunderland on 23 August 1965. His first goal came in a 4–1 away win over Tottenham Hotspur on 8 April 1966, Redknapp made his first start of the 1966–67 season, and scored his second goal for the club, on 3 December 1966 in a 3–0 win over West Bromwich Albion. Redknapp made 12 League appearances scoring once during his second season and his first league goal of the season came in a 4–0 win over West Bromwich Albion on 31 August 1968 and then in the next game a league cup tie against Bolton Wanderers which West Ham won 4–0. Redknapp received a red card in a 2–0 away defeat at Leeds United on 12 October 1968 and he had been booked for fouling Billy Bremner and was dismissed by the referee for dissent. His third goal of the came in a 4–3 win over Queens Park Rangers on 2 November 1968. Redknapp made 26 appearances scoring once in all competitions with 23 of them coming in the league, during the 1970–71 season Redknapp made 21 league appearances with one more coming in the League Cup. Redknapp joined Division 3 Bournemouth in 1972 from West Ham United, Redknapp spent four seasons with the south coast side between 1972 and 1976

21.
Portsmouth F.C.
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Portsmouth Football Club /ˈpɔərtsməθ/ is a professional football club in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, which plays in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the formation in 1898. Portsmouth have been champions of England twice, in 1949 and 1950, in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, Portsmouth played European heavyweights A. C. Milan. In this period, the club had international footballers including England players Glen Johnson, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, David James, financial problems, however, soon set in and Portsmouth were relegated to the Football League Championship in 2010. In 2012, they were relegated, to League One. They began the 2013–14 season in the tier of the English football league system for the first time since the late 1970s. Portsmouth became the largest fan-owned football club in England, after the Pompey Supporters Trust successfully gained possession of Fratton Park in April 2013, Portsmouth Football Club are nicknamed Pompey, a name which it shares with the city of Portsmouth and its historic naval base. Pompey is thought most likely to originate from the abbreviation of Portsmouth Point to the shorter Pom. The club was founded in 1898 with John Brickwood — owner of the local Brickwoods Brewery — as chairman, a blue plaque on the wall of 12 High Street Portsmouth commemorates the founding on 5 April. That first season was successful, with the club winning 20 out of 28 league matches, 1910–11 saw Portsmouth relegated, but with the recruitment of Robert Brown as manager, the team was promoted the following season. League football was suspended during First World War, but following the resumption of matches Portsmouth won the Southern League for the second time, continuing success saw them in the Third Division for the 1920–21 season. They finished 12th that year, but won the division in the 1923–24 season, the club continued to perform well in the Second Division, winning promotion by finishing second in the 1926–27 season, gaining a record 9–1 win over Notts County along the way. Portsmouths debut season in the First Division was a struggle, the next season they continued to falter, losing 10–0 to Leicester City, still a club record defeat. Despite their failings in the league, however, that also saw Portsmouth reach the FA Cup final for the first time. Portsmouth managed to survive relegation, and their fortunes began to change, the 1933–34 season saw Portsmouth again reach the FA Cup final, beating Manchester United, Bolton, Leicester and Birmingham City on the way. The club was defeated in the final, this time to Manchester City. Having established themselves in the top flight, the 1938–39 season saw Portsmouth reach the FA Cup final and this time, Portsmouth managed to convincingly defeat favourites Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1. Bert Barlow and Jock Anderson scored, whilst Cliff Parker scored twice to complete a famous victory, League football resumed for the 1946–47 campaign after five years and Portsmouth continued in the First Division

22.
Bob Paisley
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Robert Bob Paisley OBE was an English footballer and manager who spent almost fifty years with Liverpool as a wing half, physiotherapist, coach and manager. Due to his achievements as Liverpool manager, Paisley is one of the most successful English football managers of all time, Paisley and Carlo Ancelotti are the only managers to have won the European Cup three times. During his nine-year tenure as Liverpool manager, Paisley won honours at a rate of 2.2 per season, Paisley came from a small Durham mining community and, in his youth, played for Bishop Auckland before he signed for Liverpool in 1939. During the Second World War, he served in the British Army, in the 1946–47 season, he was a member of the Liverpool team that won the First Division title for the first time in 24 years. In 1951, he was club captain and remained with Liverpool until he retired from playing in 1954. He stayed with Liverpool and took on two roles as reserve team coach and club physiotherapist, by this time, Liverpool had been relegated to the Second Division and their facilities were in decline. In December 1959, Bill Shankly was appointed Liverpool manager and he promoted Paisley to work alongside him as his assistant in a team that included Joe Fagan. Under their leadership, the fortunes of Liverpool turned around dramatically and, in the 1961–62 season, Paisley filled an important role as tactician under Shanklys leadership and the team won numerous honours during the next twelve seasons. In 1974, Shankly retired as manager and, despite Paisleys own initial reluctance, at the time of his retirement, he had won the Manager of the Year Award a record six times. He retired from management in 1983 and was succeeded by Joe Fagan and he died in 1996, aged 77, after suffering from Alzheimers Disease for several years. Bob Paisley was born on Thursday 23 January 1919, in the small County Durham coal mining village of Hetton-le-Hole which is seven miles from Sunderland, Paisley described it as a close-knit community where coal was king and football was religion. His father Sam was a miner and his mother Emily a housewife and they had four sons, Willie, Bob, Hugh and Alan in age order. On the day Paisley was born,150,000 miners nationwide went on strike for a working week. Paisley attended a school until he was thirteen and, like his friends there, had to rely on soup kitchens to supplement a meagre diet. In 1926, during the General Strike when he was seven, Paisley was an outstanding footballer at Eppleton Primary School and helped his team win seventeen trophies in a four-year period. Throughout his playing career, he was a left half, the mine was closed down and he trained to become a bricklayer. Paisley had joined Hetton Football Club after leaving school in 1933 and he had a boyhood dream of playing for Sunderland but when he was recommended to them by Hetton he was rejected as being too small. Instead, he signed for Bishop Auckland before the 1937–38 season for three shillings and sixpence per match, Paisley played for the Bishops for two seasons until he was signed by Liverpool in May 1939, a few months after his twentieth birthday

23.
Liverpool F.C.
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Liverpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, the club has won 5 European Cups,3 UEFA Cups,3 UEFA Super Cups,18 League titles,7 FA Cups, a record 8 League Cups, and 15 FA Community Shields. The club was founded in 1892 and joined the Football League the following year, the club has played at Anfield since its formation. The club holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably the North West Derby against Manchester United, the clubs supporters have been involved in two major tragedies. The second was the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, where 96 Liverpool supporters died in a crush against perimeter fencing, the team changed from red shirts and white shorts to an all-red home strip in 1964 which has been used ever since. The clubs anthem is Youll Never Walk Alone, Liverpool F. C. was founded following a dispute between the Everton committee and John Houlding, club president and owner of the land at Anfield. After eight years at the stadium, Everton relocated to Goodison Park in 1892, the team won the Lancashire League in its début season, and joined the Football League Second Division at the start of the 1893–94 season. After finishing in first place the club was promoted to the First Division, Liverpool reached its first FA Cup Final in 1914, losing 1–0 to Burnley. Liverpool suffered its second Cup Final defeat in 1950, playing against Arsenal, the club was relegated to the Second Division in the 1953–54 season. Soon after Liverpool lost 2–1 to non-league Worcester City in the 1958–59 FA Cup, the club was promoted back into the First Division in 1962 and won it in 1964, for the first time in 17 years. In 1965, the club won its first FA Cup, in 1966, the club won the First Division but lost to Borussia Dortmund in the European Cup Winners Cup final. Liverpool won both the League and the UEFA Cup during the 1972–73 season, and the FA Cup again a year later, Shankly retired soon afterwards and was replaced by his assistant, Bob Paisley. In 1976, Paisleys second season as manager, the club won another League, the following season, the club retained the League title and won the European Cup for the first time, but it lost in the 1977 FA Cup Final. Liverpool retained the European Cup in 1978 and regained the First Division title in 1979, Paisley retired in 1983 and was replaced by his assistant, Joe Fagan. Liverpool won the League, League Cup and European Cup in Fagans first season, Liverpool reached the European Cup final again in 1985, against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium. Before kick-off, Liverpool fans breached a fence separated the two groups of supporters, and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a wall to collapse, killing 39 fans. The incident became known as the Heysel Stadium disaster, the match was played in spite of protests by both managers, and Liverpool lost 1–0 to Juventus

24.
Giovanni Trapattoni
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Giovanni Trapattoni, sometimes popularly known as Trap or Il Trap, is an Italian football manager and former footballer, considered the most successful club coach in the history of Serie A. A former defensive midfielder, as a player he spent almost his entire career with A. C. Milan. Internationally, he played for Italy, earning 17 caps and participating in the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, alongside Udo Lattek, he is the only coach to have won all three major European club competitions and the only one to make it with the same club. Also, he is the one to have won all official continental club competitions. He is one of the few to have won the European Cup. Trapattoni was most recently the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team and he led them to their first European Championships in 24 years, enjoying a successful UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. This followed narrowly missing out on the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Trapattoni also played for the Italian national team, earning 17 caps and scoring 1 goal. Most notably, he played at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, Trapattoni began coaching at Milan as a youth team coach, before becoming caretaker coach. Trapattoni was caretaker coach from 9 April 1974 to 30 June 1974 and his first match was the UEFA Cup Winners Cup semi–final first leg against Borussia Mönchengladbach. They got to the final after losing the second leg 1–0. Milan lost the final 2–0 to East German club 1, Milan finished seventh in Serie A. He was appointed first team coach in 1975, Trapattoni was head coach for Juventus for ten consecutive years, from 1 July 1976 to 30 June 1986. Trapattoni won all UEFA club competitions, during his years managing Juventus, Trapattoni established himself as one of the best managers in football history, well-known and respected among fans and journalists throughout Europe. He was renowned for combining expert man-management with almost unmatched tactical knowledge, Trapattoni coached Inter Milan from 1 July 1986 to 30 June 1991. While in charge of the nerazzurri, he won the Serie A in 1988–89, the Supercoppa Italiana in 1989 and he then managed Juventus for a second time between 1991 and 1994, winning the UEFA Cup in 1992–93. Trapattoni became coach of Bayern Munich in the summer of 1994, however, he left at the end of the 1994–95 season. Trapattoni coached Cagliari in the 1995–96 season and his first match was a 1–0 loss to Udinese on 26 August 1995. The clubs board of directors decided to dismiss him in February 1996, after a string of bad results and his final match was a 4–1 loss to Juventus

25.
FC Red Bull Salzburg
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FC Red Bull Salzburg is an Austrian association football club, based in Wals-Siezenheim. Their home ground is the Red Bull Arena, due to sponsorship restrictions, the club is known as FC Salzburg and wears a modified crest when playing in UEFA competitions. The change resulted in some of the teams fans forming a new club, the team currently has 10 league titles to its name, and four Austrian Cups, all of which came as doubles. FC Red Bull Salzburg was founded on 13 September 1933 as SV Austria Salzburg, in 1950, the club was dissolved but re-founded later the same year. It reached the Austrian top flight in 1953, and finished 9th of 14 clubs in its first season there, vienna-born Erich Probst was Salzburgs first-ever international, earning the last of his 19 Austrian caps on 27 March 1960. Adolf Macek, who made the first of his four appearances on 9 October 1965, was the clubs first local player to earn a cap for Austria. Salzburg were top-flight runners-up for the first time in the 1970–71 season, the clubs first-ever European campaign was in the 1971-72 UEFA Cup, and it was eliminated 5–4 on aggregate by Romanian club UTA despite a 3–1 home victory in the second leg. In 1974, Salzburg reached the Austrian Cup final for the first time, in 1978, the official name was changed to SV Casino Salzburg and in 1997, to SV Wüstenrot Salzburg, due to a sponsorship deal with an Austrian financial services corporation. The team often remained referred to as SV Austria Salzburg, during the Casino era, Salzburg reached their first and so far only European final, the 1994 UEFA Cup Final, where they lost both legs 1–0 to Italian club Inter Milan. That same season, Salzburg won their first Bundesliga title, beating Austria Vienna by 51 points to 49, the title was retained the following season as Salzburg beat Sturm Graz on goal difference. The 1995–96 season saw a drop to eighth place, one above a relegation play-off, Salzburgs inaugural UEFA Champions League campaign in 1994–95 saw them reach the group stage by beating Israels Maccabi Haifa 5–2 on aggregate. They were drawn into Group D with holders and eventual finalists AC Milan and eventual winners Ajax Amsterdam, despite drawing both matches with Ajax, Salzburg picked up a solitary 3–1 win away in Athens and were eliminated in third place. The club moved to its current stadium in 2003, the Red Bull company bought the club on 6 April 2005 and rebranded it. After the takeover, Red Bull changed the name, management. Red Bull initially claimed on the website that the club was founded in 2005. The new authority removed all trace of violet from the club logo, a small pair of wings form the motif of the new club crest, displayed on the team jersey, in accordance with Red Bulls commercial slogan at the time, gives you wings. This complete re-branding of the team proved very similar to Red Bulls treatment of its two Formula One racing teams, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso, the traditional supporters tried to resist the radical changes and formed their own movement in order to regain some of the tradition. Several fan-clubs throughout Europe voiced their support in what they saw as a fight against the growing commercialisation of football, however, after five months of protests and talks between the club owners and traditional fans, no compromise was reached

26.
Notts County F.C.
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Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. With records of games as early as 28 November 1862, Notts County is recognised as the oldest association football team in the world now playing at a professional level. Between 1888–89 and 2013–14 they played a total of 4,756 Football League matches – more than any other English team, the team plays in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. County play their games at Meadow Lane in black and white striped shirts. The club has had spells in the top division of English football, most recently in 1991–92. Notable former managers of Notts County include Jimmy Sirrel, Howard Wilkinson, Neil Warnock, Howard Kendall, the club has had several owners. In the 21st century, a series of problems has seen the club owned by a supporters trust. Notts County are the oldest professional club in the world having been formed in 1862. Notts pre-dated The Football Association and initially played a game of its own devising, at the time of its formation, Notts County, like most sports teams, were considered to be a gentlemen-only club. Notts County are considered to be one of the pioneers of the game and are the oldest of the worlds professional association football clubs. In November 1872, the Notts County full-back Ernest Greenhalgh played for England against Scotland in the international match. In 1888, Notts County, along with 11 other football clubs and they finished their first league season in 11th place, but avoided the dubious honour of the wooden spoon, which went to Midlands rivals Stoke. However, Notts County did achieve their highest ever finish of third in 1890–91. On 25 March 1891, Notts County reached the FA Cup final for the first time, the Magpies were defeated 3–1 by Blackburn Rovers at The Oval, despite having beaten the same side 7–1 in the league only a week earlier. This achievement is also memorable for Notts County becoming the first club outside the top division to win the FA Cup, in 1910 they moved to Meadow Lane. Notts County were relegated in 1926 in what was to be their last season in the English top flight for half a century. The 1925–26 season was the last season that famed giant goalkeeper Albert Iremonger played for the club, in the 1946–47 season, the ground was used temporarily by Nottingham Forest after the River Trent flooded both Meadow Lane and the City Ground. Forest again used Meadow Lane in 1968, after fire destroyed the main stand at the City Ground, the golden age of the club came just after the end of World War II

27.
Kevin Keegan
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Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is an English former football player and manager. A forward, he played for clubs including Liverpool and Hamburger SV. He went on to manage Newcastle United, Fulham and Manchester City and he also managed the England national team. As a player in the 1970s and 1980s, he has described as arguably the first superstar English player to attract the modern media spotlight. He began his career at Scunthorpe United in 1968, before moving to Liverpool in 1971. At Liverpool, Keegan won three First Division titles, the UEFA Cup twice, the FA Cup and the European Cup and he also gained his first England cap in 1972, and moved to West German club Hamburger SV in the summer of 1977. At Hamburg, he was named European Footballer of the Year in 1978 and 1979, won the Bundesliga title in 1978–79, Keegan moved to Southampton that summer, and spent two seasons at the club before a transfer to Newcastle United in the English second division in 1982. He helped Newcastle to promotion in his season, and retired from football in 1984, having been capped 63 times for England. He moved into management at Newcastle in 1992, winning promotion as First Division champions, Newcastle then finished second in the Premier League in 1995–96, after leading for most of the season. After a spell at Fulham, he took charge of the England team in February 1999 and he then became manager of Manchester City in 2001 and spent four years at the club before resigning in 2005. He had been out of football for almost three years when he returned to Newcastle United for a spell as manager in January 2008. This spell lasted only eight months, however, as Keegan resigned on 4 September 2008 following speculation regarding a dispute with the clubs directors. Keegan was born in Armthorpe in Doncaster to English parents of part Irish ancestry and attended his school, St. Peters High School. As a schoolboy, Keegan had a trial for Coventry City, despite being one of two players kept on for an extra six-week period, the club did not offer Keegan a contract. He also had a trial with Doncaster Rovers, who felt he was too short, Keegan made his debut against Peterborough United at the age of 17, making 29 league starts in his first season. He became a regular in the first team by the 1969–70 season and this season saw the team reach the fifth-round of the FA Cup, beating Football League First Division side Sheffield Wednesday along the way. Keegan played regularly in a right midfield role for the Scunthorpe United first team despite his age – he scored 18 goals in 124 games for the club. In 1971, he attracted the attention of Liverpools head scout Geoff Twentyman and he was thus transferred to Liverpool for £35,000 in 1971, at the age of 20

28.
Newcastle United F.C.
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Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Following the clubs most recent relegation from the top-flight during the 2015–16 season, Newcastle returned to the Football Leagues 2nd tier, the Championship, for the 2016–17 campaign. Newcastle United was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, the ground was developed into an all-seater stadium in the mid-1990s and now has a capacity of 52,354. They have won four League Championship titles, six FA Cups and a Charity Shield, as well as the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Newcastle United has the ninth highest total of trophies won by an English club. The clubs most successful period was between 1904 and 1910, when they won an FA Cup and three of their First Division titles. The club were successful in the Premier League in the 1990s and early 2000s, but have been mostly struggling since the 2006–07 season. Newcastle has a local rivalry with Sunderland, and the two clubs have engaged in the Tyne–Wear derby since 1898. The clubs traditional kit colours are black and white striped shirts, black shorts and their traditional crest takes elements of the city coat of arms, which features two grey seahorses. The club has been owned by Mike Ashley since 2007, succeeding long term chairman, the club is the seventeenth highest revenue producing club in the world in terms of annual revenue, generating €169. 3m in 2015. Historically, Newcastles highest placing was in 1999 when they were the fifth highest revenue producing club in the world. The first record of football being played on Tyneside dates from 3 March 1877 at Elswick Rugby Club, later that year, Newcastles first football club, Tyne Association, was formed. The origins of Newcastle United Football Club itself can be traced back to the formation of a club by the Stanley Cricket Club of Byker in November 1881. This team was renamed Newcastle East End F. C. in October 1882, to avoid confusion with the club in Stanley. Rosewood F. C. of Byker merged with Newcastle East End a short time later, in 1886, Newcastle East End moved from Byker to Heaton. In August 1882, Newcastle West End F. C. formed from West End Cricket Club, and in May 1886, the two clubs became rivals in the Northern League. In 1889, Newcastle East End became a team, before becoming a limited company the following March. However, on the hand, Newcastle West End were in serious financial trouble. With only one club in the city for fans to support

29.
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
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Tottenham Hotspur Football Club /ˈtɒtnəm, -tənəm/, commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English football club located in Tottenham, Haringey, London, that competes in the Premier League. The clubs home stadium is White Hart Lane and their newly developed training ground is in Bulls Cross on the northern borders of the London Borough of Enfield. Founded in 1882, Tottenham won the FA Cup for the first time in 1901, Tottenham were the first club in the 20th century to achieve the League and FA Cup Double, winning both competitions in the 1960–61 season. After successfully defending the FA Cup in 1962, in 1963 they became the first British club to win a UEFA club competition – the European Cup Winners Cup, in 1967, Spurs won the FA Cup for a third time in the 1960s. In the 1970s Tottenham won the League Cup on two occasions and were the winner of the UEFA Cup in 1972, becoming the first British club to win two different major European trophies. In the 1980s Spurs won several trophies, the FA Cup twice, FA Community Shield, in the 1990s the club won the FA Cup and the League Cup. When they won the League Cup once more in 2008, it meant that they had won a trophy in each of the last six decades – an achievement only matched by Manchester United. The clubs Latin motto is Audere est Facere, and its emblem is a cockerel standing upon a football, the club has a long-standing rivalry with nearby neighbours Arsenal, with head-to-head fixtures known as the North London derby. The club was formed in 1882, as Hotspur F. C. and played in the Southern League from 1896 until 1908, when they were elected into the Football League Second Division. Before this promotion Tottenham had won the FA Cup in 1901, since then, Tottenham have won the FA Cup a further seven times, the Football League twice, the Football League Cup four times, the UEFA Cup twice and also the UEFA Cup Winners Cup. The Cup Winners Cup victory in 1963 made Tottenham the first English team to win a UEFA competition, in 1960–61 they became the first team to complete The Double in the 20th century. Tottenham played their first matches at Tottenham Marshes on the public pitches. It was at this ground that Spurs first played archrivals Arsenal, there were occasions on which fights would break out on the marshes in dispute of the teams that were allowed to use the best pitches. Crowd sizes were regularly increasing and a new site was becoming needed to accommodate these supporters, in 1898 the club moved from the marshes to Northumberland Park and charged an admission fee of 3d. They only remained at this ground for a year as in April 1899,14,000 fans turned up to watch Spurs play Woolwich Arsenal. The ground was no able to cope with the larger crowds and Spurs were forced to move to a new larger site 100 yards down the road. The White Hart Lane ground was originally a disused nursery owned by the brewery Charringtons, the landlord spotted the increased income he could enjoy if Tottenham played their matches behind his pub and in 1899 the club moved in. They brought with them the stand they used at Northumberland Park which gave shelter to 2,500 fans, notts County were the first visitors to the Lane in a friendly watched by 5,000 people and provided in £115 in receipts, Spurs won 4–1

30.
Continental Europe
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Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe, or, by Europeans, simply the Continent, is the continuous continent of Europe, excluding surrounding islands. This historical core of Carolingian Europe was consciously invoked in the 1950s as the historical basis for the prospective European integration. In both Great Britain and Ireland, the Continent is widely and generally used to refer to the mainland of Europe, an apocryphal British newspaper headline supposedly once read, Fog in Channel, Continent Cut Off. It has also claimed that this was a regular weather forecast in Britain in the 1930s. In addition, the word Europe itself is regularly used to mean Europe excluding the islands of Great Britain, Iceland. The term mainland Europe is also sometimes used, derivatively, the adjective continental refers to the social practices or fashion of continental Europe. Examples include breakfast, topless sunbathing and, historically, long-range driving often known as Grand Touring. Differences include electrical plugs, time zones for the most part, the use of traffic, and for the United Kingdom, currency. Britain is physically connected to continental Europe through the undersea Channel Tunnel and this route is popular with refugees and migrants seeking to enter the UK. Especially in Germanic studies, continental refers to the European continent excluding the Scandinavian peninsula, Britain, Ireland, and Iceland. The reason for this is that although the Scandinavian peninsula is attached to continental Europe, kontinenten is a vernacular Swedish expression that refers to the area excluding Sweden, Norway, and Finland but including Denmark and the rest of continental Europe. In Norway, similarly, one speaks about Kontinentet as an entity, usually referring to Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Benelux countries. Today, the Scandinavian peninsula is accessible by train and road with several bridge/tunnel structures connecting the Danish peninsula of Jutland to Scania in Sweden. The Continent may sometimes refer to the part of Italy, the continental part of Spain, the continental part of France. The term is used from the perspective of the residents of each country to describe the continental portion of their country or the continent as a whole. Continental philosophy Geopolitical divisions of Europe Geographical midpoint of Europe Mainland Western Europe Hajnal line

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that …

Harry Hampton scores one of his two goals in the 1905 FA Cup final against Aston Villa

Kevin Keegan (pictured in his second spell in 2008) guided Newcastle to promotion and Champions League football from 1992 to 1997, turning United into one of the biggest clubs in England despite not winning the league

Newcastle made an immediate return to the top-flight in 2010 after their relegation the year prior.